Limited Series

The second of the seven knockout matches on the April 10 episode of “The Voice” pitted two of Alicia Keys‘ artists — Jack Cassidy and Vanessa Ferguson—against each other. Do you think Keys made the right choice by going with Ferguson? Watch the two performances and then vote in our poll below. And be sure to sound off in our comments section too.

Cassidy was, as the song title says, “Unsteady,” on this 2015 hit for the rockers X Ambassadors. Ferguson delivered an emotional performance of the soul song “If I Were Your Woman,” which had been a big hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips back in 1970. With Keys choosing to take Ferguson to the live shows, Cassidy was done.

For his March 6 blind audition, David Cassidy‘s nephew Jack, who grew up in Hollywood, delivered a soulful rendition of the 1995 Joan Osborne hit “One of Us” that had both Keys and Adam Levine vying for his vote. As this softly spoken 18-year-old accompanied himself on the piano, it was not surprising he chose Keys who does the same. His March 27 battle with Hunter Plake might have been the last of the night, but it was the first in which two of the three other coaches fought to get the loser for their team. Inexplicably, Keys chose to have her two remaining male artists sing “Dancing on My Own,” a 2010 hit for Swedish dance diva Robyn. After being denied three full performances in a row, we saw Cassidy and Plake give it their all. Keys chose to keep Cassidy, who sounded stronger in the choruses, while Gwen Stefani opted to use her second and final steal on Plake.

Ferguson is classically trained and knows her way around a song. In her March 13 blind audition, she rocked the house with her performance of “Don’t Let Me Down,” the 2016 hit for The Chainsmokers. While Levine took a pass, Ferguson had Keys, Blake Shelton and Stefani fighting for her affections. Shelton tried to make his case that he would not try to countrify her but ,in the end, she went with her idol, Keys. Her March 27 battle with Autumn Turner saw them sing “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” Roberta Flack had a huge hit in 1973 with this chart-topping soul song, which won both Record and Song of the Year at the Grammys. In 1997, the Fugees did a cover that won them a Grammy for Best R&B Duo/Group Performance. Ferguson masterfully blended the two versions and got the backing of Keys while Turner struggled to connect with the lyrics. However, Levine and Stefani saw potential in her and she chose to work with the former, becoming the first of his steals.